Preview: Defending champions India will look to assert their continental supremacy once again when they take on reigning Asian Games gold-medallists Japan in the semi-final of the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) hockey tournament on Saturday.
Having spanked Japan 9-0 in the round-robin stage, India will start overwhelming favourites against the Asian Games champion side.
India are the only side in the tournament that remained unbeaten in the round-robin stage, having won all their matches except for a close goal-less draw against old nemesis Malaysia.
India qualified as the top team with 13 points from five games. Arch-rivals Pakistan finished second on 10 points ahead of Malaysia on account of a better goal difference, while Japan were fourth with seven points.
The ongoing Asian Champions Trophy being the last tournament before the season-ending World Cup in Bhubaneswar, the Indians would be desperate to prove their critics wrong with another strong performance on Saturday.
Going by performance, the Indians looked the dominant side in the tournament with convincing wins except for the stalemate against Malaysia.
Harendra Singh's men defeated Oman 11-0, Pakistan 3-1, Japan 9-0 and South Korea 4-1.
And come Saturday, India would be eager to prove that the disappointing bronze at the Asian Games was just an aberration with another big morale-boosting win over Japan.
India's chief coach Harendra Singh said Saturday will be a completely new game for his side.
"I would like my boys to play aggressive hockey with control over their emotions. The semi-final will be a different ball game. The result or score-line of our last encounter with Japan in the preliminary league will have no significance when the semi-final gets underway on Saturday," Harendra said on the eve of the match.
Japan, on the other hand, have fielded six youngsters in the squad after their gold medal at the Jakarta Asian Games in their bid to focus on a long-term team-building exercise.
Japan are the only team among the semi-finalists here not to have qualified for the World Cup.
Japan, however, will play for pride and find a way to blunt the Indian attack.
Their recent habit of turning the form-book on its head will cause some unease for their rivals.
"I have always said that India will have an edge nine times out of our 10 encounters. We're hoping that Saturday will be that one time when we go out and defeat them," Japan coach Siegfried Aikman said.
"Our performance in the preliminary league, including the loss to India, is history now. My young players have grown in confidence," he added.
In the other semi-final of the day, Pakistan will lock horns against Malaysia.
The final of the tournament will be played on Sunday.
Updated Date: Oct 28, 2018 00:19:22 IST
Highlights
INDIA 3-2 JAPAN
FULL-TIME!
Defending champions India enter the final and they will play arch-rivals Pakistan for the title. A hard-fought victory for Manpreet Singh and Co against the Asian Games gold medallist team.
INDIA 3-2 JAPAN
GOAL! Penalty corner for Japan and Zendana converts it perfectly. Four minutes left in the final quarter. Can India hold on to their lead?
INDIA 2-1 JAPAN
GOAAAAALLL! India take the lead. Varun's penalty corner takes a big deflection. Less than a minute left in the third quarter.
INDIA 1-1 JAPAN
End of the second quarter. Two goals in 15 minutes and the match is nicely poised for the second-half.
INDIA 1-1 JAPAN
Two back-to-back penalty corners for India, but nothing comes out them. Less than four minutes left in the second quarter.
INDIA 1-1 JAPAN
INDIA 1-0 JAPAN
GOAAAAAAL! Gurjant Singh with a scintillating finish to give India a well-deserved lead. He collects the ball, moves away from the defender, and finds time to slot the ball inside the net.
INDIA 0-0 JAPAN
Oh chance for Mandeep Singh. He collects the ball, turns and shoots but it's just off target.
LIVE NEWS and UPDATES
00:19 (IST)
INDIA 3-2 JAPAN
00:07 (IST)
INDIA 3-2 JAPAN
FULL-TIME!
Defending champions India enter the final and they will play arch-rivals Pakistan for the title. A hard-fought victory for Manpreet Singh and Co against the Asian Games gold medallist team.
00:02 (IST)
INDIA 3-2 JAPAN
GOAL! Penalty corner for Japan and Zendana converts it perfectly. Four minutes left in the final quarter. Can India hold on to their lead?
23:59 (IST)
INDIA 3-1 JAPAN
GOAAAAAALLLL! Dilpreet Singh with a superb turn and a equally good finish to ensure India double their lead in the final quarter.
23:54 (IST)
INDIA 2-1 JAPAN
23:48 (IST)
INDIA 2-1 JAPAN
23:47 (IST)
INDIA 2-1 JAPAN
End of the third quarter. A good one for India as they lead the match by a goal.
23:45 (IST)
INDIA 2-1 JAPAN
GOAAAAALLL! India take the lead. Varun's penalty corner takes a big deflection. Less than a minute left in the third quarter.
23:37 (IST)
INDIA 1-1 JAPAN
23:33 (IST)
INDIA 1-1 JAPAN
Very good steal from Japan and they almost took the lead in the match. The shot is wide.
23:31 (IST)
INDIA 1-1 JAPAN
The third quarter is underway at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex. The battle is for a spot in the final.
23:25 (IST)
INDIA 1-1 JAPAN
End of the second quarter. Two goals in 15 minutes and the match is nicely poised for the second-half.
23:19 (IST)
INDIA 1-1 JAPAN
23:15 (IST)
INDIA 1-1 JAPAN
Two back-to-back penalty corners for India, but nothing comes out them. Less than four minutes left in the second quarter.
23:10 (IST)
INDIA 1-1 JAPAN
23:05 (IST)
INDIA 1-0 JAPAN
GOAAAAAAL! Gurjant Singh with a scintillating finish to give India a well-deserved lead. He collects the ball, moves away from the defender, and finds time to slot the ball inside the net.
23:03 (IST)
INDIA 0-0 JAPAN
23:00 (IST)
INDIA 0-0 JAPAN
22:59 (IST)
INDIA 0-0 JAPAN
End of the first quarter. Couple of good chances for India but no goals yet from both the teams.
22:57 (IST)
INDIA 0-0 JAPAN
Oh chance for Mandeep Singh. He collects the ball, turns and shoots but it's just off target.
22:52 (IST)
INDIA 0-0 JAPAN
Great chance for Gurjant, but his shot is well saved by the Japanese goalkeeper.
22:48 (IST)
INDIA 0-0 JAPAN
22:43 (IST)
INDIA 0-0 JAPAN
22:42 (IST)
INDIA 0-0 JAPAN
The second semi-final of the Asian Champions Trophy is underway in Muscat. India will look to maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament and progress to the final.
22:37 (IST)
Here's the starting XI of the Indian team
21:56 (IST)
Hello and welcome to the Live coverage of the Asian Champions Trophy semi-final match between India and Japan.
Manpreet Singh-led India have yet to taste defeat in the tournament, winning four matches out of five. The one draw came against Malaysia where both teams failed to score. They faced Japan earlier in the tournament and hammered them 9-0. Japan, who won gold at Asian Games this year will have their task cut out against a very tough team.
Stay tuned for all the updates from the match.